should i be fitting heavier starter cable on tef20

ivor from uk here and I am fixing up a ferguson tef20 diesel for a retired farmer and he wants one 12 volt battery instead of 2x6volt batteries the battery is at least 4 feet from starter although the cable is original and looks ok would there be any benefit fitting heavier cable??
thanks in advance
 
Derwen, to your question "would there be any benefit fitting heavier cable??"

EASY ANSWER YES The bigger the cable the less cable voltage drop so there's more available at the starter where its needed most, plus there's less I Squared R Heat energy loss in the cable.

Its equally important each and every battery and cable and ground and starter and switch/solenoid have bright clean tight shiny connections. If in doubt Id remove n clean n wire brush each and every connection bright shiny and reattach.

You need a good bright shiny ground connection and it can be beneficial to have the ground cable from battery to be attached on or near the starter as possible.

Others may have different answers or opinions but these work for me

John T
 
There is no special need because of a switch from two six-volt batteries to a single twelve-volt battery. In fact, there are less demands on cables and connections with the single twelve-volt battery since all the series connections are inside the battery (no outside center connector cable). That said, that Lucas starter draws a max of 300 amps @ 9 volts. So with #2 cables, you get 8.6 volts to the starter under full load (kind of rare to happen). With #1 cable, you get 8.7 volts to the starter at max load, and with 2/0 cable, you get 8.8 volts under full load. Not a huge difference.
 
One advantage to welding cable is its better flexibility. Still, its the wire gauge that matters. As always, bigger the better for less voltage drop and I Squared R heat energy losses in the cable. I prefer to discharge the energy and drop as much voltage as possible across the starter NOT the cables. Is most helpful on a colddddddddddd morning lol that's when you will be glad you have adequate sized cables and NOT thin cheap wimpy ones.

John T
 

Old cable is probably rotten inside a cable clamp connection or under the insulation.
Use real crimped on connectors . Make the chassis/ground connection on a starter mounting bolt .
 

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